In this issue of Weather

Abstract

We begin 2017 where we ended 2016 with ‘A Perfect Storm? The collapse of Lancaster's critical infrastructure networks following intense rainfall on 4/5 December 2015’ by Emma Ferranti, Lee Chapman and Duncan Whyatt. This paper relates the heavy rain of the first part of last winter to a legacy of reduced or inadequate investment, then takes a look ahead, considering the possible effects on the UK infrastructure in a warmer world.On p. 8, the effects of cold are examined in ‘Emergency interventions due to weather‐related hypothermia’ focussing on the Lublin area of southeastern Poland by Agnieszka Kryżewska and her co‐authors. However, readers may be intrigued to discover that southeastern Poland is not the only area with a relatively high death rate due to winter cold – relatively milder parts of Europe also see an increase in deaths associated with cold weather, typically before the coldest conditions arrive.Even the tropics can experience relatively cool weather and in northern India, this is often associated with fog, as described by Sanjay Kumar and his co‐authors in ‘An observation‐based climatology an forecasts of winter fog in Ghaziabad, India’. Their paper describes the link between fog formation and not only clear skies with light winds, but also the effect of pollution. The low‐lying plains of the Ganges and its tributaries sees a very high occurrence of fog in winter, compared with, say, the British Isles and much more than most tropical lowlands.